RE: What Are the Main Problems You Have with MS Word?

[kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com]

David wrote:

> I think that it's exactly because Word is so pervasive/ubiquitous that
> managers are less likely to approve a budget for a Word training course than
> they are for say a FrameMaker training course, which only exacerbates and
> perpetuates the problems.


This is true, and a good observation. But as tech writers, I think WE have
the responsibility to master our tools, regardless of the level of support
we receive from our employers to do so.

When I transferred into my current job, I went from a Frame/Robo shop to
an all-Word job. I had almost no experience with Word, but I didn't make
that THEIR problem. I bought a few Word/Office books, and spent a couple
days inundating my brain with how the application works, and the most
logical way to set it up for my needs, and dove into creating templates
for the documents I needed to produce.

It would have been nice to take a Word class. And it would be great if the
company paid for it. But I was so thrilled with my new opportunity, I
didn't want to start out with a "gimmme" attitude (I did my share of that
during salary negotiations). And I didn't want to seem like I needed a lot
of handholding. As David pointed out, "everybody" can use this software,
so I didn't want to act like it was going to be particularly challenging
for me to do so.

There are numerous books, videos, and online resources for learning Word
(and most other major software, too). The time and money you invest in
such resources is very well spent, and will more than pay for itself, IME.
It also is a differentiator; by putting in this extra effort, you'll set
yourself apart from less motivated peers.


-Keith Cronin
_____________________________

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